2013 South Shields by-election

54°59′56″N 1°25′44″W / 54.99889°N 1.42889°W / 54.99889; -1.42889

2013 South Shields by-election

2 May 2013 (2013-05-02)

The South Shields seat in the House of Commons.
Triggered by vacation of seat by incumbent
Registered64,084
Turnout39.3%
  First party Second party
 
UKI
Candidate Emma Lewell-Buck Richard Elvin
Party Labour UKIP
Popular vote 12,493 5,988
Percentage 50.4% 24.2%
Swing 1.6 pp New party

  Third party Fourth party
 
Con
Ind
Candidate Karen Allen Ahmed Khan
Party Conservative Independent
Popular vote 2,857 1,331
Percentage 11.5% 5.4%
Swing 10.1 pp New party

MP before election

David Miliband
Labour

Subsequent MP

Emma Lewell-Buck
Labour

A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of South Shields was held on 2 May 2013, triggered by the resignation of incumbent Labour Party Member of Parliament (MP) and former Foreign Secretary David Miliband in order to take up a position as head of the International Rescue Committee in New York City. It was won by Labour candidate Emma Lewell-Buck who held the seat with 50.4% of the vote.

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) came second with 24.2%, with the Conservatives dropping to third with 11.5%. The Liberal Democrats' candidate came seventh with just 1.4%, the Liberals' or Liberal Democrats' lowest share of the vote at a by-election since 1948. The by-election coincided with local elections across England.